The Last Showing

Last updated

The Last Showing
The Last Showing 2014 film poster.jpg
Theatrical film poster
Directed by Phil Hawkins
Written by Phil Hawkins
Produced byAlexandra Baranska
Starring Robert Englund
Finn Jones
Emily Berrington
CinematographyEd Moore
Edited byPaul Griffiths-Davies
Music byRichard Bodgers
Production
company
The Philm Company
Distributed bySony Pictures
Release date
  • 22 August 2014 (2014-08-22)(FrightFest)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2m

The Last Showing is a 2014 British independent horror thriller film directed by Phil Hawkins. [1] The film had its world premiere on 22 August 2014 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and stars Robert Englund as a movie projectionist who kidnaps a couple for his own sinister purposes. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Stuart (Robert Englund) is a film purist who despises the current film world, viewing it as vulgar and cheap. After being laid-off from his job as a projectionist and forced to work at the concession stand, Stuart decides to take his revenge. Stuart manages to capture Martin (Finn Jones) and Allie (Emily Berrington), a young couple who have come to his theatre to watch The Hills Have Eyes 2 and make out. After drugging Allie and incapacitating his manager, Stuart traps the couple in the theatre overnight. He then proceeds to use the building's CCTV system and a handheld camcorder to make his own personal horror movie.

Cast

Reception

The film had a mixed reception from audiences and critics. "Scream: The Horror Magazine" described it as "a superb psychological horror" [4] and Starburst Magazine praised the film describing it as "clever, crazed and contagious... a film that is awash with tradition, twists, atmosphere, and charm. Does for multiplexes what Jaws did for water". [5] The Hollywood Reporter and Hey Guys both panned the movie, [6] which The Hollywood Reporter felt "has a strong pulpy premise, but ultimately lacks the sly humor and jolting shock value required to make it come alive on screen". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Englund</span> American actor and director

Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.

<i>Pandemic</i> (film) 2016 American film

Pandemic is a 2016 American science fiction thriller film directed by John Suits and written by Dustin T. Benson. Rachel Nichols stars as a doctor who leads a group to find survivors of a worldwide pandemic. The film is shot in a first-person POV, similar to first-person shooter video games.

FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event held in London in late October, and a festival in Glasgow held around February as part of the Glasgow Film Festival.

<i>Detention</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Detention is a 2011 American slasher black comedy film directed by Joseph Kahn, and co-written with Mark Palermo. The film premiered in March 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Detention stars Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke, and Dane Cook.

Patricio Valladares is a Chilean film director, screenwriter and comic book writer, best known for his work in horror films, who mixes elements of both arthouse and grindhouse, with an emphasis on modern extreme violence, action and some gore. He is also involved in comics and short movies, and frequently injects black humor or homages to grindhouse movies, along with artistic cinematography, somewhat intellectual dialogue and the occasional surrealism. His serial killers tend to make repeat appearances in his movies.

<i>Stage Fright</i> (2014 film) 2014 Canadian film

Stage Fright is a 2014 Canadian musical comedy slasher film directed by Jerome Sable and is his feature-film directorial debut. The film had its world release on March 10, 2014 at South by Southwest, a VOD release on April 3, 2014, and a theatrical release on May 9. It stars Allie MacDonald as a hopeful young singer terrorized by a killer at a musical theater camp.

<i>White Settlers</i> 2014 British film

White Settlers is a 2014 British thriller-horror film that was directed by Simeon Halligan. The film had its premiere on 23 August 2014 at Film4 FrightFest and stars Pollyanna McIntosh and Lee Williams as a couple that find that their new home is not as hospitable as they would have hoped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Dylan Grazer</span> American actor (born 2003)

Jack Dylan Grazer is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eddie Kaspbrak in the horror film It (2017) and its 2019 sequel, Freddy Freeman in the DC Extended Universe film Shazam! (2019) and its 2023 sequel, and voicing Alberto Scorfano in the Pixar animated film Luca (2021). The Hollywood Reporter named him one of the top 30 stars under age 18 in 2018.

<i>The Black Gloves</i> 2017 British film

The Black Gloves is a 2017 horror film directed by Lawrie Brewster and starring Macarena Gómez. It serves as a prequel to his 2013 debut horror film Lord of Tears. The film is set during the 1940s, and tells the story of a psychologist that soon finds himself at odds with the Owlman, a sinister owl-headed figure.

<i>Terrifier</i> 2016 slasher film by Damien Leone

Terrifier is a 2016 American slasher film written and directed by Damien Leone. The film stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton, and Catherine Corcoran. The plot centers on partygoer Tara Heyes (Kanell) and her sister Victoria (Scaffidi), who become targets of the enigmatic serial killer only known as Art the Clown (Thornton) on Halloween night.

<i>Abruptio</i> 2023 puppet horror film

Abruptio is a 2023 American adult puppet animated horror film written, edited, and directed by Evan Marlowe. Produced by Barry Finlayson, Kerry Marlowe, Martin White, and Susan Finlayson, the film stars James Marsters, Hana Mae Lee, Christopher McDonald, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, and Sid Haig in his final film before his death on September 21, 2019.

<i>The Midnight Man</i> (2016 horror film) 2016 American film

The Midnight Man is a 2016 horror film directed by Travis Zariwny and starring Gabrielle Haugh, Lin Shaye and Grayson Gabriel.

<i>Rabid</i> (2019 film) 2019 Canadian film

Rabid is a 2019 Canadian body horror film directed and co-written by Jen and Sylvia Soska and starring Laura Vandervoort, Ben Hollingsworth, and Phil Brooks. It is a remake of the 1977 film of the same name directed by David Cronenberg.

<i>House of Salem</i> 2016 film directed by James Crow

House of Salem is a 2016 horror-thriller film written and directed by James Crow. It stars Jessica Arterton, Jack Brett Anderson, Liam Kelly, Robert Daniel Lowe, Leslie Mills and Andrew-Lee Potts. The film premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on August 27, 2016.

The Horror Crowd is a 2020 documentary film by Ruben Pla that examines the horror community in Hollywood.

<i>Red Snow</i> (2021 film) American horror comedy film

Red Snow is a 2021 American horror comedy film directed by Sean Nichols Lynch. The film stars Dennice Cisneros as a supernatural romance author living in Lake Tahoe who comes into conflict with vampires over the Christmas holidays. The film had its international premiere at London FrightFest on August 26, 2021 and was released on December 28, 2021.

Crabs! is a 2021 American comedy horror film directed by Pierce Berolzheimer, starring Dylan Riley Snyder, Bryce Durfee, Allie Jennings, Jessica Morris, Chase Padgett and Robert Craighead. It is the directorial debut of Berolzheimer.

<i>The Unspoken</i> (film) 2015 film directed by Sheldon Wilson

The Unspoken is a 2015 Canadian horror thriller film written and directed by Sheldon Wilson. It stars Jodelle Ferland, Neal McDonough, Pascale Hutton, Sunny Suljic, and Michael Rogers.

<i>Cult of VHS</i> 2021 documentary film

Cult of VHS is a 2022 documentary film directed by Rob Preciado, that focuses on the age of VHS, eccentric collectors from around the globe, and the video nasties that became the centre of a controversial debate on censorship in the eighties and nineties.

References

  1. Lambie, Ryan (26 August 2014). "Robert Englund interview: The Last Showing, Freddy Krueger and horror". Den of Geek. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. Sandwell, Ian (17 May 2014). "Sony takes UK on Last Showing". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  3. Miska, Brad (10 September 2014). "Robert Englund On Remakes, 'Elm Street' and 'The Last Showing'". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. "BLURAY ARTWORK QUOTE". Sony Pictures. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. Pollard, Andrew (8 August 2014). "Starburst Review". Starburst .
  6. Risker, Paul (2 September 2014). "FrightFest 2014: The Last Showing". Hey Guys. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. Dalton, Stephen (22 August 2014). "'The Last Showing': FrightFest Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 10 July 2021.